


The Eye Color Soulmate AU Fiasco

by ProdigiousFeldspar



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bickering, M/M, Meet-Cute, Partners to Lovers, Pining, Somewhat, Soulmate AU, gretchen (mention), i guess, idiots to lovers, lots of bickering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-10-21 13:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17643596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProdigiousFeldspar/pseuds/ProdigiousFeldspar
Summary: The universe helps wayward couples along by revealing a world of color when a person encounters their soulmate after previously only being able to see in grayscale.The universe did not account for two people being so stupid.Things go horribly, horribly wrong.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read a Sportarobbie fic with the same concept and could not resist.  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/9278573  
> (Check it out, super cute stuff)

Not everyone had a soulmate and that was the sad truth of the world. Those who were lucky enough, viewed the world in grayscale, the only color visible to them was that of their soulmate’s eyes. Those who were united with their soulmate (few and far between, even sadder) would instantly understand the gravity of their meeting when their optic nerves kicked into full gear and they could see the full spectrum of colors around them. It was a very romantic concept, unless you were an artist or worked at a color wheel factory. Luckily Balthazar Cavendish was neither. He had studied hard and worked his metaphorical fingers to the bone to become an agent of the Bureau Of Time Travel. It hadn’t been easy, but when has that ever been the case when you’re trying to fulfill a lifelong dream of saving the world? 

The identity of and possible future with his soulmate had weighed heavily on Balthazar from a tender age. He dreamed of meeting a person with such striking eyes and instantly knowing they were the one for him. Heterochromia! Such a rare mutation. Let alone in this day and age. While he couldn’t wait to meet the love of his life, he felt that he wouldn’t live up to the ideals and pedestal he placed this person on. Balthazar himself was of a judgmental sort with a keen eye and a sharp tongue. He prided himself on his impulse control but that did not extend to his words. He put on airs to spite his consistent failures growing up and looking down on others wasn’t so much of a choice as a natural afterthought as a means to cope. His unrealistic expectations to achieve his lofty goals of saving this two-toned world greatly hurt his self esteem. He knew he could achieve anything, but consistently falling short was a harsh blow that took a toll on one’s very soul. As years went on and despite his best efforts, he sometimes wondered if he could have made it as a professional pianist even if his entire being screamed that he could be more. That this was right for him. He had put all thoughts of romance on the back burner. Being career-focused felt right, like his heart was leading him to it. He had mourned the possibility of him and his soulmate’s relationship and made peace, moving on. Occasionally he might feel a pang sentiment at seeing icy blues and warm browns. But he had bigger things to focus on than desires for a companionship that may never come to fruition.  He had steeled himself against loneliness and was working at not letting failure get the best of him. Which it still did. Often.

Balthazar had failed the Bureau’s entrance test multiple times. He had aced the written portion nearly every time, but his teamwork left much (A passing grade) to be desired. After countless attempts, he had barely scraped by, but he had finally made it. He was officially on payroll (no benefits) with a plastic ID card and everything. He was moving up in the world and would soon be moving back and forth in the time of the world as well. Risking his life on dangerous missions and giving his all to make a difference. This was it. He was waiting in the office of one of the three directors of the Bureau. He was supposed to be meeting his partner to begin a life of adventure and fame but it was exactly fifteen minutes passed the designating meeting time (he checked his watch every minute) and he was getting a little worried and annoyed. He glanced at the director of the division he would be working in, Mr. Block, who was glaring at Balthazar as if he had something to do with the tardiness of his mysterious partner.  

“Hampshire!” Balthazar jumped. Was Block addressing _ him? _ “Are all of the clocks at the bureau of time travel headquarters miraculously and ironically malfunctioning, or is your partner late?” 

“It’s Cavendish, Sir.”

“You didn’t answer my question, Cooperdink.” 

“Cavendish.” 

Block glowered at him in a way that only someone who could uproot your life and career with a single finger could. 

“I- I’m sure -there must be some sort of um, circumstances that would make them late.”

Block continued to glower.

“Sir.” Balthazar added. This was the start of his new life, his opportunity to turn everything around and receive the recognition he deserved. What kind of person was his partner if they couldn’t be on time for such an important event? He himself had been two hours early, which may be a tad excessive but it never hurts to be prepared, especially when a coveted position like this hangs in the balance.

The door opened and a brunette man with -was that a perm?? And the sideburns  _ oh no _ \- red-tinted sunglasses walked in, carrying a cup of coffee and talking around some food in his mouth.  

“Hey, I overslept, and you would not believe the line at Starb-” He trailed off. The man stared at Balthazar like he couldn’t believe his eyes. He briefly glanced around the room distractedly then looked back at Balthazar with a huge grin. 

Balthazar was so mad at the irresponsible man in front of him, he felt like he was seeing red! His partner knew what today entailed, and not only was he late, he only bought one coffee? How selfish! And the tacky tracksuit, it was orange for goodness’ sake! 

The man - his new partner, Balthazar could not, would not stand for this-  smiled and reached out a hand in greeting, “Um, wow. I had no idea we would meet like this, this is crazy! I’m Vinnie Dakota. I’m just - I’m so happy to finally-”

“I can’t do this. It won’t work.” Balthazar cut him off, beseeching Mr. Block.

“What?” Block and Vinnie were both nonplussed. 

“I refuse to work with someone like him.” Balthazar crossed his arms. 

“Woah woah woah, we just met, unless my reputation precedes me, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, huh?” Vinnie put his hands up in placating gesture.

“We’re going to be putting our lives on the line out there, and you can’t even be bothered to show up on time. It’s obvious you don’t care about anyone but yourself.”

“Excuse me?” Vinnie frowned, affronted.

 “You- you brought one coffee! On the day you’re supposed to meet your new partner! Which you were running late to in order getting said coffee!”

“I mean, I figured my partner would be capable enough to get his own coffee,” Vinnie shot back, then lightened his tone, “listen, you can have mine, it’s a milk chocolate mocha extra whip, my favorite, you might like it.”

“I don’t want a mocha! I want a competent partner!” Balthazar cried, he knew he was acting childish but he couldn’t stop. He did not work so hard for things to wind up like this. He was so mad, he was still literally seeing red.  _ Wait, what? _

Vinnie took a few steps toward him gesturing pointedly with his mocha. “Hey, you don’t know anything about me, I was late, I’m sorry. But you don’t get to pass judgement on me for one mistake.”

“Punctuality is an important part of time travel, so I’ve heard,” Balthazar bit out. 

“ I’m pretty sure being a decent person is too, but you don’t see me chewing you out when we just met! We could maybe make this work if you weren’t being such a jerk.” 

Balthazar was about to retort when Mr. Block struck his desk and both of them jumped, “Children, when you’re ready to sort this out and act like grown ups I have mission debriefing for you.” He growled, waving a manilla folder at them, which Vinnie snatched from his hand as Balthazar reached for it. With a smirk he handed it over, only to pull it back when Balthazar tried to take it. 

Balthazar fumed and Vinnie gave him the folder for real this time. Balthazar felt silly with how forcefully he grabbed he envelope, expecting Vinnie to take it back once again. They both glared at each other for a moment, before he opened it up and looked inside.

Pistachio duty. Huh. 

 

\---

 

Their first mission ended with many mistakes, tense silences, passive aggressive fights and ended with them dragging themselves (while covered in honey and pine needles, it’s a long story) to their Bureau dorms without a parting word to one another.  

Balthazar glared at his reflection in the mirror, angrily brushing his teeth. What a difference the man staring back at him would make in the world, with such an incompetent and undignified partner slowing him down. Bah! At least he himself looked dignified enough for the two of them. What with his gray hair and - his hair was gray. His eyes were cyan. He was wearing green pajamas. His toothbrush clattered to the floor. Colors!! He could see colors! He looked around excitedly at his bathroom, the accents on the towels were red, the toothbrush holder was navy, his soap was pink, his hair was gray, man alive, when did  _ that _ happen? He wasn’t that old!

More importantly, when did being able to see colors happen? He was mystified. How could-?

His soulmate! 

He must have passed my them somehow. But how did he not notice? When did he first notice colors, maybe he could narrow down who it could be. The process of elimination. Let’s see… Balthazar paced his bathroom, which was not an ideal place to pace, so he relocated himself to his bedroom when he knocked over the shower caddy. He remembers being so mad at Dakota that he saw red… Could it be?

No, no. GOD NO. 

Dakota’s eyes are brown, he remembers that. Not Mr. Block, he has turquoise eyes. He shuddered at the thought. Gretchen has brown eyes. Was...Was he supposed to be in a relationship with them both? No, it probably doesn’t work like that. It’s not really his style anyhow. He must have passed his soulmate by at the bureau earlier in the day. His heart raced. How extraordinary! That his soulmate would work in the same industry as him! He makes a mental note to study the eyes of fellow B.O.T.T. employees when he has the chance. Maybe he could pull off winning the job of his dreams and being united with his fated soulmate! 

Balthazar went to sleep that night with a small hope burning in his chest. Maybe this could work out, even if him and his partner couldn’t stand each other.    

  
  


\---

 

One of Vinnie Dakota's favorite spots to hang out (besides diners, fast food joints, buffets, music concerts, the zoo, concession stands, did I mention any establishment that sells food?) was the ocean. For anyone else, it was a fascinating and ever changing landscape churning with mystery but the intrigue it held for Vinnie was far more personal. His soulmate’s eyes were the color of the sea. Well, he caught glimpses of his soulmate’s eye color in it. More often than not, he found that drift glass or even empty cola bottles (nice) captured and held the color with more consistency. He had a private collection of things that he employed to brighten up his B.O.T.T. dorm. A splash of color in a world of grayscale was something to be treasured. Not everyone found their soulmate, and Vinnie was by no means worried, if he didn’t find his soulmate, he would be fine. He was the type of person to go with the flow and if it was meant to be it would happen. If not, eh, what’re you gonna do? 

He had been running late, which was the norm for him. Kinda funny how timeliness wasn’t his strong suit but he was a time traveler. Go figure. Schedules had always been more like suggestions to him. 

He had no clue what sort of person his partner was. Vinnie was never a fan of rules and tried to look into his files on record, but got busted by Agent Flynn before he could find anything out. He supposes having it be a surprise is kind of fun. He realized walking through the bureau on the way to meet his partner that he could have nabbed them a coffee. Oh well, it’s no big deal, they probably won’t care. (He would come to learn that he has never been so wrong in his life). 

He navigated the building casually until he came to Block’s office. He opened the door, forgetting he didn’t finish his doughnut, he shoved the rest in his mouth.  “Hey, I overslept, and you would not believe the line at Starb-” He trailed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vinnie: *comes in 15 minutes late with starbucks LITERALLY*  
> Agent Flynn - I'd like to think generations after her own time, Candace's descendants are continuing on the busting tradition!
> 
> One more chapter coming. Thanks for reading and feel free to check me out at pfeldspart.tumblr.com, pfeldspar.tumblr.com or if you're feeling saucy ko-fi.com/pfeldspar


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place at the end of 'Missing Milo'

They barely survived the Pistachion uprising and downfall. Wreckage littering the school campus, trees on fire, and Brick and Savannah’s time vehicle snapped in half, wasn’t a much collateral damage as they expected but it was a smaller price to pay than losing the entire human race to pistachio monsters.

  
Vinnie and Balthazar embraced, exuberance and exhaustion warring as they leaned against one another. It wasn’t for certain if they would remain upright if they weren’t physically supporting each other.

  
“Dakota! We did it! We actually saved the world!” Balthazar pulled back and froze.

  
Vinnie’s sunglasses had gotten knocked off in the chaos and he was looking at Balthazar fondly. Uncovered by the red tint of the lenses, instead of being the expected brown, one of his eyes was icy blue.

  
Balthazar’s heart stopped. Warm brown and muted blue were the only colors he had seen for so many years. Until he met...

  
His soulmate.

  
“SERIOUSLY?!” He threw his arms in the air in exasperation, “I cannot believe you! I mean, honestly Dakota?!”

  
Vinnie blinked at him blankly, “Oh, uh sorry? I’m sure whatever it is I did wasn’t that big a deal, but my bad. You know how I am.”

  
Balthazar grabbed him by the shoulders roughly, “Your eyes! One is brown and one is blue!”

  
Vinnie lifted an eyebrow, “Yeah, it’s called heterochromia, it’s a mutation. A pretty groovy mutation, if you ask me -”

  
“I thought they were brown!” Balthazar said desperately.

  
“...Okay.”

  
Balthazar scrubbed at his own face furiously, “Ugh! You- You’re! You’re my soulmate!”

  
“Well yeah,” Vinnie shrugged, far too blaise.

  
“What do you mean ‘well yeah’?”

  
Vinnie’s eyebrows drew down, like his was thinking hard or trying to chew through a gobstopper. Which he has done in the past. His record is 8 minutes. “You didn’t know?” He asked.

  
“No! I was not made privy to this information in the slightest! I thought your eyes were brown!” Balthazar caught sight of Vinnie’s sunglasses and chucked them into a nearby shrubfire in frustration.

  
Vinnie watched the trajectory of his glasses into the garden-expo catastrophe-style blaze. Then he realized. “Oh -- oh! The glasses. They make my eyes look...heh,” Vinnie finished lamely, “I guess that explains why you were such a jerk when we first met.” He pointed at Balthazar, “Wait, are you saying you never noticed when the world came into color for you?”

  
Balthazar blushed visibly and tried not to cringe even more visibly, straightening his posture, “Well, in the heat of the moment… I was very annoyed.”

  
“You were so annoyed you didn’t notice everything going from gray to technicolor.” Vinnie stated.

  
“I was annoyed, alright? Have you ever heard of the expression seeing red? I… You- You were late! And you only brought one coffee!”

  
Vinnie put his face into his hands, “Again with the coffee! I apologized! How many times are you going to bring that up?”

  
“I’m not trying to argue about that again. I was unjustifiably angry, this I admit. I was apparently in so much of a blind rage that I didn’t realize…” His voice fell to a whisper. “Oh, Dakota, that must have been heartwrenching.” Balthazar gingerly took Vinnie’s hand from his face and intertwined their fingers.

  
Vinnie shrugged, “Eh, I kinda had my hopes up but you were looking less and less like soulmate material as you were berating me. I got a little heated, too. You sure know how to get under a guy’s skin.”

  
“Oh…” Balthazar said dumbly, “Not soulmate material. Is that what you think of me?” He pulled away.

  
“No, no, that’s not what I meant. C’mon, bring that hand back here.” Vinnie sighed, “You didn’t seem like it at the time. I think we took the saying ‘getting off on the wrong foot’ and won the three-legged race with that one. As we went on more missions together, were stuffed in an small office together, so on and so forth, I came to really see you as my soul mate. Nah, it wasn’t exactly the instant fairytale magic soulmate meet-cute but we’re not really that typical, are we? ”

  
Balthazar smiled slightly, “I suppose we are not.” His slight smile faded more than slightly, “Wait a tick, why didn’t you say anything? You knew we were soulmates instantaneously but never brought it up!” He said, pointing an accusing finger Vinnieward. Old habits of redirecting blame died hard.

  
Vinnie grimaced, “Well, you seemed really pissed and like you hated my guts! I figured you would bring it up if you ever changed your mind.”

  
“So you simply… waited?” The accusing finger fell. As did Balthazar’s face.

  
“Yeah, kinda. I mean you wanting to stay professional and not involve your work and your love life together might’ve been the case. Or it could’ve been a fluke. I’ve never heard of a onesided soulmateship but, hey, we’ve had stranger things happen, right?” Vinnie laughed weakly.

  
Balthazar clasped both of Vinnie’s hands in his, “Well, you haven’t got to worry about that. It’s fully reciprocated.”

  
“Took you long enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put it off for a month and while most of it had been written I finally finished it up!  
> The groovy mutation line is a nod to X-men First Class.
> 
> You can find me at pfeldspart.tumblr.com, pfeldspar.tumblr.com or if you're feeling saucy ko-fi.com/pfeldspar


End file.
